The Break-It Early Test Application (B.E.T.A.) for the upcoming multiplayer survival game Fallout 76 has a start date! Xbox One players will start first on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. PS4 and PC players will join the fun on Tuesday, October 30, 2018.

As stated in the official Bethesda blog, the goal of this beta is to stress test and break the game in preparation for the full launch on November 14, 2018. The servers will be run at specific times so that the team can monitor the largest amount of players in a session. The beta sessions will run anywhere from four to eight hours and all progress in the Fallout 76 beta will carry over into the full game. In celebration of this reveal, Bethesda released the official intro to the game and you can watch it below.

Fallout 76 start date and times

Xbox One beta dates and times:

Tuesday, October 23 from 7pm to 11pm ET / 4pm to 8pm PT

Sautrday, October 27 from 5pm to 7pm ET / 2pm to 4pm PT

Sunday, October 28 from 12pm to 2pm ET / 9am to 11am PT

PS4 and PC beta dates and times:

Tuesday, October 30 (times to come)

The Fallout 76 beta is only going to be active for four hours on Tuesday, October 23 for Xbox One players. This doesn't give players a lot of time to experience the game, especially if there are any server instabilities. As for the timing of the PS4 and PC beta, there is currently no word on when they might start, though it's likely going to be the same time as the Xbox One beta. Thankfully, Bethesda revealed in a tweet that they will have more sessions featuring extended hours, which is good news for players who want more.

From the start of the beta on October 23, all players will be free to stream and discuss the experience they're having with Fallout 76. As you prepare to step out of the vault, enjoy this Shacknews interview with Pete Hines about Fallout 76 and this journey into new territory. Fallout 76 launches November 14, 2018, on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Stay tuned to Shacknews for more updates.

Charles Singletary Jr keeps the updates flowing as the News Editor, breaking stories while investigating the biggest topics in gaming and technology. He's pretty active on Twitter, so feel free to reach out to him @The_CSJR. Got a hot tip? Email him at Charles.Singletary@Shacknews.com.

The problem is those are penalties for people who want to play the game as designed. If your just want to grief, none of those matter. Its like monopoly having a rule that anyone who breaks into your house and flips over the board has to pay $200 and go back 3 spaces. What do they care?

That's not exactly accurate. When you attack another player, your attacks only do a small amount of damage until and unless your target responds and attacks you back. At that point you both do full damage (adjusted with some kind of level and weapon power squashing). Whoever wins gets awarded caps and (I believe) can loot the other person's scrap. Whoever loses only loses their scrap and is forced to respawn; you don't lose weapons, armor, ammo, etc.

It is possible to kill someone using the low power attacks, but it naturally takes some effort. If you succeed, you win nothing, and you get flagged as a murderer. Being a murderer means every other player can see you and see that you're a murderer on the world map, you can't see anyone else on the world map, there's a bounty that comes out of your caps, and people can simply kill you out of hand without doing the low damage slapping bit. One guy with a sniper rifle can put you down without you ever seeing them.

Keep in mind also that we're talking about ~24 people in an area 4-6 miles square. Finding people without them being visible on the map is going to be a challenge. Conversely, avoiding someone you can see on the map but who can't see you is going to be much easier.

While there will no doubt be some determined griefers, this seems like a pretty good start for limiting their effect.

They've explicitly stated that their structure for managing griefing is a starting point and they will change things as needed.

That said, as I understand the overall structure and flow of the game, it sounds like doing nothing but griefing, or even primarily griefing, will be challenging at best. Would-be griefers will still need to maintain weapons, collect and/or craft ammo, acquire food and water, and so on. Unlike other survival games, killing people who don't want to PvP doesn't get you any of the resources needed for that.